Question 1

Twelve-month-old Thinus is barely able to walk a few steps before losing his balance and falling down. What is the term that best describes Thinus's current ability to move around?

Accepted Answer

Thinus's ability to walk a few steps before losing his balance is best described as toddling, which is the unsteady and wobbly walking pattern that is typical for children around 12-24 months old. Neuroplasticity refers to the brain's ability to adapt and change, and fine motor skills and differentiation refer to different aspects of motor development that are not specifically related to walking.

Question 2

What would be the best example of a fine motor skill?

Accepted Answer

Feeding yourself with a spoon requires the use of small muscles in the hand and fingers to grasp the spoon and manipulate it in a coordinated manner to bring the food to the mouth, making it a fine motor skill. The other options involve larger muscle groups or gross motor skills.

Question 3

Which best exemplifies experience-expectant growth?

Accepted Answer

Experience-expectant growth refers to the brain's natural tendency to develop in response to common experiences that are typical for all members of a species. The fact that all infants hear language sounds is a common experience that leads to the development of language skills, making choice A the best example of experience-expectant growth. Choices B, C, and D do not exemplify experience-expectant growth.

Question 4

Which statement concerning culture and crawling is true?

Accepted Answer

In some traditional African cultures, children receive training to sit and walk at younger ages than in Europe and North America. However, there is no evidence that North American children are crawling at younger ages than in the past, and experience can impact the rate of acquisition of crawling. While there may be cultural differences in attitudes towards motor development, there are likely no cultures that outright discourage it. Therefore, option D is the only statement that is true.

Question 5

If Thandi is a proponent of dynamic systems theory, then you know that she is most interested in

Accepted Answer

Dynamic systems theory is concerned with how complex systems (such as human development) change over time and adapt to their environment. Crawling and stepping are examples of motor skills that develop over time as a result of multiple factors, including the child's own actions and the environment in which they are learning to move. Therefore, someone interested in dynamic systems theory would likely be interested in studying the development of motor skills like crawling and stepping.

Question 6

How would 12-month-old Sadie locomote?

Accepted Answer

By 12 months, most children are crawling or starting to walk, so Sadie would most likely crawl around the room as a means of locomotion.

Question 7

Although they are often unsuccessful in getting the food into their mouths, many children first begin to experiment with finger foods around age

Accepted Answer

According to typical developmental milestones, most children begin to experiment with finger foods around the age of 6 months. At this age, they have developed the oral-motor skills necessary to bring their hands to their mouths and have started to develop a pincer grasp that allows them to pick up small pieces of food. By contrast, 2 months would be too early for most infants to be ready for solid food, and 10 or 14 months would be late for this developmental milestone.

Question 8

In an effort to lower the age at which his infant son will begin to walk, Mr Mhlangu puts eight-month-old Kgatello on a programme that emphasises leg strength. What is the most likely outcome of this intervention?

Accepted Answer

While there are a variety of factors that influence when an infant begins to walk, strength in the legs is certainly one of them. Therefore, it is possible that focusing on leg strength could have a positive impact on Kgatello's readiness to walk. However, it is important to note that there are many other factors at play (such as coordination, balance, and confidence) that also need to develop in order for an infant to be able to walk.

Question 9

Studies of infant stepping behaviour on a treadmill demonstrated that

Accepted Answer

Studies have shown that infants demonstrate a stepping pattern on a treadmill before they are able to walk independently. This pattern involves alternate stepping on each leg, which is a precursor to walking. Option B is incorrect as even though some infants can take a few steps without assistance, they are not able to walk independently without support. Option C is incorrect as infants have been shown to be able to adapt and adjust their stepping on a moving object like a treadmill. Option D is also incorrect as infants do not have the ability to refuse or reject attempting to walk at such a young age.

Question 10

Which is the best example of differentiation?

Accepted Answer

The answer of Which is the best example of differentiation?
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Question 11

Thandi has mastered balancing, stepping, and the perceptual skills necessary to negotiate her way around. Putting all these skills together to enable her to walk is a process called

Accepted Answer

Integration refers to the process of combining different skills and sensory inputs in order to accomplish a more complex task, such as walking. In this example, Thandi has developed the necessary skills (balancing, stepping, perceptual skills) and is now integrating them in order to walk. Therefore, option A is the best choice. Option B refers to the process of distinguishing between different stimuli, while options C and D relate more to specific aspects of perception rather than the process of integrating skills for a specific task.

Question 12

Stewart is a 10-year-old boy growing up in England, and Mpho is a 10-year-old boy growing up South Africa. What difference in handedness would you expect?

Accepted Answer

The majority of the population is right-handed regardless of geographic location or culture. Therefore, it is likely that both Stewart and Mpho are right-handed.

Question 13

Naledi, who has not seen her niece Winnie since she was born, is surprised to see the 12-month-old standing upright and taking a few steps. In view of this accomplishment, Naledi realises that Winnie is now considered a(n)

Accepted Answer

A toddler is typically defined as a child between the ages of 1 and 3 years old, who is just beginning to walk and explore their environment on their own. Winnie's ability to stand upright and take a few steps indicates that she has reached this stage in her development. A neonate is a newborn baby up to the first 28 days of life, an infant is a child under the age of 1, and a preschooler is typically between the ages of 3 and 5 years old.

Question 14

Roger is a typical seven-month-old. In terms of locomotion, the best he is able to do is to

Accepted Answer

The answer of Roger is a typical seven-month-old. In terms...

Question 15

What response would you expect if you attempted to hand a toy to a typical 13-month-old infant?

Accepted Answer

By approximately 13 months, infants typically begin to exhibit a dominant hand preference, meaning they tend to consistently use one hand over the other. Therefore, it is most likely that a typical 13-month-old infant would first grasp the object with the hand they prefer, which would be either the left or the right hand.

Question 16

Because Thembi is a typical nine-month-old, she is most likely to use

Accepted Answer

At nine months old, babies are typically developing the ability to use both their right and left hands interchangeably. This is a normal part of their motor development and is known as hand preference. Some babies may show a preference for one hand, but it is not uncommon for them to switch back and forth between their right and left hands. It is also not typical for a nine-month-old to rely on their feet more than their hands for grasping or manipulating objects.

Question 17

The fact that brain wiring is organised by experiences common to humans is referred to as

Accepted Answer

The fact that brain wiring is organised by experiences common to humans is referred to as experience-expectant growth. This means that the brain is wired to expect certain experiences that are common to the human experience, such as exposure to language or social interaction, and will develop in certain ways based on these experiences.

Question 18

Padma is excellent at walking, running, climbing, and kicking balls. This would suggest that Padma has good

Accepted Answer

Padma's ability to walk, run, climb, and kick balls all rely on her motor skills, which involve a combination of physical coordination, strength, and balance. Therefore, B is the best answer as it directly relates to her physical abilities. The other choices do not relate as closely to her demonstrated skills.

Question 19

Katleho is 4 months old. If he is like others his age, when he grasps a rattle, he will grasp it with

Accepted Answer

At 4 months old, infants typically grasp objects using their fingers only, as they have not yet developed the coordination to use their thumb in opposition to their fingers.

Question 20

Infants are more likely to cross a bridge when it is wide and has a rigid handrail than when it is narrow and has a wobbly handrail. Which statement best explains this behaviour?

Accepted Answer

The answer of Infants are more likely to cross a...

Quiz 3: Tools for Exploring the World: Physical, Perceptual, and Motor Development